Lost Faith and Secrets Untold
by Natalie.LP
Summary: Agent Talia Snow finds herself back in her hometown for a case and she's less than pleased – not just because the victims and their families were people she had grown up with. She had worked extremely hard to get out of that town and she had left behind secrets about her past that were best left alone. Until now.
1. Chapter 1

As JJ pulled into the church parking lot, Talia took a deep, steadying breath. She had been shocked to find out that their next case was centred in her tiny little hometown, and had extremely mixed feelings about the whole situation. While she was understandably upset that the victims and their families were people she had grown up with, and obviously she wanted to help the community and stop the UNSUB before they could take any more lives, she was also reluctant to be there. As much as she wanted to help she _hated_ her hometown, and if she was completely honest, she wasn't all too fond of the majority of its inhabitants. She had worked _very_ hard to get a scholarship to a college far away from the town, and had been determined to avoid returning as much as possible. Of course, she still visited her family a couple of times a year, but only because it was expected, not because she particularly wanted to. She hadn't spent more than a few days a year in the county since she left 12 years ago.

Startled out of her thoughts by JJ calling her name, Talia shook her head to clear the thoughts and got out of the car.

'It sure is strange to be back.' Talia whispered, almost to herself, and smiled at JJ before the two headed into the church.

The morning's service hadn't long ended, and there were a few people milling around the entrance way. Talia greeted all of them sweetly, introduced JJ and asked after their families before continuing on in search for Father Reginald. The team had decided that he would be a key person to speak to straight off, as all of the victims had been members of his congregation. They hoped that he would be able to give them some more information on the ladies, and what else they may have in common that could explain why they had been targeted. Smiling at a few other passers-by Talia scanned the church, finally spotting Father Reginald at the other end of the hall talking with some very familiar ladies and their mothers. Stiffening slightly, Talia slowed her pace as she built herself up to the upcoming conversation. JJ looked at her fellow agent curiously, sensing the tension practically rolling off her in waves. Just as she was about to ask if Talia was ok, a voice boomed across the hall having finally noticed their presence.

'Tallulah Snow! Well, what a wonderful surprise! Come on over here and give us a proper hello!' Father Reginald called with a beaming grin.

As the duo reached the group, JJ was relieved to see that Talia's discomfort had seemed to pass, and she now wore a gentle smile as she hugged each of the girls in turn before turning to Father Reginald and giving him a quick hug also. Quickly introducing JJ to the two girls who had been Talia's childhood best friends, and the group reminisced and laughed for a while.

Talia may not like it here for whatever reason, JJ thought, but she had some really good friends. And whatever happened that made her lose her faith, she had obviously been a key member of the church growing up, no matter what she felt now. After some time had passed, promising to catch up with them before she left town again, Talia asked for some privacy to talk with the Father about the case.

'Ah yes,' Father Reginald began with a shake of his head and the beginnings of a frown creasing his forehead. 'It's awful isn't it, I never would have thought anything like this could happen in our peaceful little town.'

'We were hoping you would be able to help us,' began JJ, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'We know that all of the women were part of your congregation, and we were wondering if you could tell us any more about them? Anything else that they might have had in common perhaps?'

Unfortunately, Father Reginald did not have the information they were seeking, and so soon after the Agents left to regroup with their team. Before they left, he told them that he would contact them if he thought of anything.

'Keep in touch, Tallulah. IT isn't the same without you here.' Were his parting words before he headed back inside.

As the got into the car JJ turned to Talia and smirked, 'Tallulah huh?'

The only response she got was an eye roll. JJ laughed as she set off, no one was allowed to call Talia by her full name – ever. Apart from it seemed, her childhood priest. Must be a respect thing, she thought, because Talia didn't correct the man once like she would with the rest of the world. She should really visit more…


	2. Chapter 2

Back at the station, another call had come in to report another body had been found. As JJ and Talia made their way into the station they bumped into Hotch and Rossi as they made their way out to the latest crime scene. Talia gave a quick update on their visit to the church, with a few sly comments from JJ as she emphasised that he had promised to give 'Tallulah' a call if he thought of anything that could help. Finishing with a wink at Talia's disgruntled expression, she shared a smile with the senior agents.

'It's a shame he couldn't give us anything else, perhaps we'll see something at the new victim's house that will give us a clue. Other than that, JJ I want you and Reid to head over to speak with the other families and see what you can find out about each victim. There has to be something we're missing.' Hotch paused for a second as he thought to himself, before turning to Talia. 'You grew up with these people, take some time to look through the case notes again. See if anything jumps out at you that maybe you hadn't considered before, the latest victim is Joanna Hardy. Maybe with her name added in you'll notice something? We'll let you know as soon as we find something.'

Waving goodbye, the girls headed inside to the rest of the team. JJ filled Reid, Morgan and Garcia in on their conversation with Father Reginald and then headed out with Reid to see what they could find out from the families. Garcia had pulled a preliminary file on the newest victim already and Morgan made some fresh coffee while Talia sat herself down at the nearest desk and took a deep, steadying breath. She knew these people – there had to be something that connected them… something she was missing… She pulled the case files towards herself and stared at them for a moment before looking up at the board. Before they'd arrived back someone had added Joanna's name to the list of victims. Grabbing the coffee Morgan had just placed in front of her, Talia stood and stared at the names willing something to jump out from a long forgotten memory. Anything.

'I just don't get it, the only things they have in common other than the usual links from living in such a small town is the church. They were all really involved; I'm not sure about more recently but when I was growing up they were all on the …' Talia just stopped mid-sentence, completely unaware of the confused look Morgan was giving her as she stared at the board.

As Morgan watched, waiting for her to finish her sentence, he saw realisation, horror and resignation flash across her face among others. She had realised something big, and he had a feeling that it was something that would be the key to the case – he just didn't realise quite how important it would be. Concerned as Talia practically fell back into her chair, dropped her head into her hands and groaned, pulling at her hair slightly; Morgan joined her at the desk and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Startling slightly, Talia looked up at her fellow agent in surprise. She'd been lost in her thoughts, her memories. There was no doubt in her mind why the attacks were happening now, and she knew exactly who would be targeted next, and of course, she knew who the UNSUB was. As she closed her eyes to centre herself before explaining her theory, the banging of the station doors opening as the rest of the team returned and she paused as they regrouped around her.

'… nothing, well nothing we didn't already know at least.' JJ reported, disappointed that they hadn't got any further as Talia finally zoned in to the conversation.

'The scene was the same as all the others, and told us just as much.' Rossi shook his head. 'Did you find anything here while we were gone?'

Morgan stayed silent, simply turning to look at Talia expectantly. She sighed, keeping a blank mask on her face, here goes nothing.

'I know who's doing it, and I know why.' Talia looked over at the Police Chief, Chief Dawson, who had headed over and heard her speak, and nodded at him. 'Fifteen years ago, one of the older girls from the church choir, Carolynn Stanford, made some accusations against Father Reginald. She reported that he had been sexually abusing her over a period of two years. There wasn't any evidence found to support her claims, and Father Reginald was a very well respected key member of the community. To say the least, the town was outraged on his behalf.'

'Why on earth didn't you tell us this before?!' Hotch asked in shock, the rest of the team seemed equally surprised by the new information. Morgan in particular seemed to have frozen in place as he listened, his eyes alight with a flame of anger.

'Part of me blocked it out, I was fifteen at the time and it was quite a traumatic situation.' Tatia stated, shrugging her shoulders slightly despite the slight stiffening in her stance which only worsened when Chief Dawson joined in.

'Yeah, it was a tough time for the rest of the kids you know. With those accusations, people might've though the same thing had happened to them. Of course the whole thing was cleared up pretty quickly, especially since Talia here and a couple of her friends put in statements to vouch for the good Father.

'Exactly,' Talia interrupted in a slightly exasperated tone before Dawson could continue. 'And besides, after the case had been dropped the town was outraged by her lies and essentially shunned her. She was ex-communicated and disowned by her family. Carolynn had a history of telling lies, about various things, but of course this was the worst.'

Talia sighed slightly and shook her head. 'So she was forced to leave town basically, and since she was 18 she moved to a nearby town where she had some distant family. And that's where she stayed as far as I was aware – I mean I've never heard of her trying to come back home?' At that she turned questioningly to Dawson who looked slightly uncomfortable.

'Actually, she did come back around 6 months ago… She made up with her folks, and admitted to lying all those years ago. She apologised to her family, and she apologised to Father Reginald himself. It can still be tense at times, and obviously when she visits now she doesn't go to church. But she comes by every couple months or so to visit with her parents. She seemed… happy I guess… happy to be back in touch with everyone. I guess if you're right, then she had another reason altogether…' He trailed off looking lost.

Nodding at him, Talia put a comforting hand on his shoulder before continuing. 'Yes, it wold appear that she came back with some kind of vengeance on her mind – the victims so far were all on the committee that disproved her allegations, and made the decision to ex-communicate and send her away. Our UNSUB is Carolynn Stanford and there are only three people left from that committee that will be her next targets. We need to round up Katie Samuel, Father Reginald, and Maria Snow, before she comes back for the next victim.'

As Talia was talking, Morgan was getting more and more agitated. She spoke with such little emotion, her face practically blank apart from the occasional glimpse of exasperation and impatience. Once the team had dispersed slightly to discuss who would be going to collect who, Morgan took a moment to get some fresh air. This case just got a whole lot worse in his mind. Once the red haze had lifted slightly, he returned inside only to find he had been paired with Talia to go and retrieve Father Reginald and Maria, who happened to be Talia's mother. They would both be at the church at this time of day. Rossi and JJ were going to pick up Katie from her home on the other side of town. Perfect.

The car ride to the church was so tense Talia was finding it difficult to breath – although the stress probably had something to do with that too if she thought about it. Finally, a couple of minutes in, Morgan snapped.

'What the hell was that?'

'Excuse me?' Talia glanced over incredulously. 'What was what?'

'You know what – the way you told that story. As if you couldn't be bothered dealing with any of this. You can't seriously still believe she was lying about it?!' Morgan was practically bouncing in his seat as he barked his question at her.

'I know what happened Morgan. The past is the past, I wasn't particularly planning on revisiting it.' Talia replied, keeping her focus fixed determinedly on the road.

'Seriously? You _know_ what happened do you? Were you always there? I don't believe you – this isn't like the Talia I've gotten to know over the last year. If you honestly believe that someone would go to this level of revenge for something that wasn't even true… Is that seriously what you're telling me?!' Morgan was furious, especially when she ignored the question completely. 'And you were one of the reasons why it all went away aren't you – you and your little statement. I'm surprised you haven't thought that maybe you and your _friends_ aren't going to be targeted after that _stunt_.'

Morgan scoffed to himself as she continued with her ice queen façade and the pure silence, ignoring every word he said. He knew he was being somewhat irrational over the statement. She had been a 15 year old girl then, and probably drawn in by an upstanding member of the community. But he knew what it was like to suffer at the hands of someone that everyone else saw as a hero. And for Carolynn to have built up the courage to come forward, to seek help… and just be punished for it… He was furious on her behalf. He couldn't bear to look at Talia anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

The remainder of the drive to the church had been in a stony silence. Talia refused to engage in any conversation around the situation and Morgan was too angry to even want to try and talk about anything else. Finally, they arrived and Talia left Morgan in the car to collect her mother and Father Reginald from inside the church. As she entered she was greeted loudly, just like last time, and her mother looked up in surprise from the flowers she was arranging on the side.

'Talia! What a lovely surprise! Father Reginald was just telling me you were in town for this awful business.' Maria Snow had somehow perfected the look of being pleased and sad at the same time.

'Mother.' Talia nodded with a small smile. 'I'm afraid I'm not here for pleasantries. As you said I'm here to work on the case. I'm going to need you both to come back to the station with me. We have reason to believe that it's Carolynn Stanford and neither of you are safe.'

While they were both surprised they came easily enough, realising the serious nature and the risk if it were indeed what was happening. As the two settled in the back of the car, having been quickly introduced to Morgan who simply nodded at the pair before turning forwards in his seat, Talia took a moment to close her eyes and breathe. Then she got back in the car and they pulled on to the road to return to the station.

While Morgan maintained a tense silence, Maria Snow certainly did not. She was extremely vocal from the back seats, expressing her severe displeasure and disgust that Carolynn had started 'that whole _mess_ ' again, and doing such awful things about it. 'The whole thing was her own fault anyway, if she hadn't told those terrible lies in the first place none of it would have happened. She could have carried on happily with her family, where she should have been, and focused more on the church. No, instead she had to go and not only ruin her own life, but try to destroy _your_ reputation, Father, and now she's actually stooped so low as to _kill_ people.' Maria finished with a horrified, yet self-righteous look on her face.

'Thank you so much, my dear, for your continued support. It means so much in such difficult times, just as it did when this all began.' Father Reginald shook his head sadly. 'I just wish I knew where I had gone wrong with Carolynn. She had been such a good child, and then all the lies began and I just don't know what I could have done differently. To help you understand. She just turned out so rotten – nothing like our lovely Tallulah of course'

'Oh no, Father. You can't blame yourself, you couldn't have done anything to change. You've always been so fantastic with the children!' Maria defended passionately, as Morgan began to clench his fists tightly in the front.

Father Reginald started talking then about how 'Tallulah' had always been his star, his favourite, how if only Carolynn had been more like her – his good girl. How he had been so proud of the 'Tallulah' and the girls when they had written those statements off their own backs, just to help him. To prove his innocence.

Morgan was ready to burst in the car, he was furious – that sick bastard! He was so angry that he didn't notice the tense look in his partner's eyes, the subtle wince every time the priest said her full name, when he spoke of how _special_ she was to him – the white knuckle grip she had on the steering wheel. Father Reginald did though and every time she glanced in the rear view mirror he gave her a small smirk – he knew what she was thinking about, what she was remembering. He made one last comment about how Carolynn had always been a stupid little girl and that would never change and Morgan exploded – he turned around and began shouting at him.

'You disgust me! How dare you sit there talking that way about a poor young girl that _you_ clearly took advantage of. Someone who lost _everything_ because of you. Someone who is so disturbed by what _you_ did to her, and then what _this whole town_ did because of you, she's resorted to getting revenge by killing members of your community. Do you even care that this is entirely _your fault_?!' Morgan was bright red in the face and practically spitting the words at Father Reginald to the horror of Maria and to Talia's dismay. 'I'm so disappointed in the statute of limitations that stop anything from being done about your crimes to Carolynn all those years ago. But I hope the deaths of these women lie heavily on your heart for the rest of your pathetic little life.'

As he finished his rant, Talia pulled into the police station and Morgan immediately wrenched open his door and stormed away, refusing to look her way for even a second. She took a few calming breaths to keep the threat of tears at bay before turning to her passengers, apologising, and leading them into the station where they would be kept safe until Carolynn was caught. Leaving them in the capable hands of her team, Talia turned on her heel and walked out of the police station, ignoring the calls of her team as she got back into her car and left.


	4. Chapter 4

The team were in shock – not only had Morgan failed to return with the group, but Talia had just walked out of the station without so much as a 'hi'. What on Earth was going on? As the team paused in their conversations to stare after Talia as the door swung shut after her hasty exit, Rossi caught Father Reginald smirk slightly before returning to a neutral expression. Tucking the knowledge away for now, Rossi turned his attention to Morgan who had just entered through a side door and appeared to be trembling slightly in the corner farthest from the team.

Focusing his attention back into the room, Hotch approached the pair that had just been dropped off. 'Glad you made it here safe. Mrs Snow, Father Reginald, my name is Agent Hotchener. Would it be alright if we spoke with you separately to see if you can give us any more insight to what is happening and why?'

When both agreed, Hotch led Talia's mother into an interviewing room while JJ did the same with Father Reginald.

Something was… _off_ about the priest, JJ couldn't quite put her finger on it but he seemed almost pleased with the turns of events. Amused that Carloynn's claims were once again being called into question, although he did seem to regret the lives lost as a result. He also loved to talk about Talia, or rather _Tallulah_ as he continued to call her. When JJ mentioned that no one else was allowed to call her that he smiled a strange smile, a glint shining brightly in his eyes as he brushed it off- he had known her since she was a child, he would always call her Tallulah. They'd always had a special bond, so it didn't surprise him that he would be honoured in such a way. JJ was beyond happy to leave the room when she had decided she was done. There was something that had really unsettled her about the whole thing.

Hotch came out the same time as JJ, looking somewhat troubled – Maria hadn't given too much new information other than some more detail on the committee meeting that started this revenge quest, but one thing she had said resonated with him and refused to let go. When he'd asked her why she didn't believe her she'd simply responded that it was 'ridiculous, I mean for Heaven's sake Talia was his favourite by far, he adored the girl – if he was trying to do anything with any of them it would have been her. Don't think I didn't consider that for a second but then she came home and told me she'd given evidence and I was so proud… and relieved I suppose. If it had been anyone it would've been Talia. Both my girls went to the choir and were very involved with the church, following me I suppose. So I really think I would've known, would've noticed if something untoward were happening to them. It really was just absurd.'

'If it had been anyone it would've been Talia.' Hotch couldn't get the words out of his head. What kind of parent says that about a potential allegation of sexual abuse to a minor? The more they looked at this case, the worse it seemed to get.

Morgan was having a terse conversation with Hotch and Rossi when Talia returned but she didn't acknowledge them. She stared past them and looked blankly at Father Reginald for a moment before turning to Chief Dawson and put a piece of paper down in front of him, telling him it was time. Before Dawson had a chance to look at it, the two women from that first visit to the church walked in and did the same before they joined hands, standing either side of Talia and they all stepped back and turned to face the door. The suddenly silent station followed the motion, immediately jumping into action when Carolynn Stanford walked through the doors slowly with her hands up, unarmed. She was quickly put in handcuffs and the trio walked towards her, each moving to hug the crying woman and apologised to her to the confusion of all present. Carolynn nodded at all of them before she was led away and into a holding cell.

The three women turned and watched her leave and then faced Dawson at his desk once more. 'It's time.' One of the ladies told him 'May we speak with you privately please?'

Agreeing to speak with the Chief in the interview rooms, Talia sighed slightly knowing her team would be on the other side of the glass listening to every word. It was unavoidable. She would do the same in their positions. It was important to the case after all.

After a deep composing breath Talia began,' I hereby retract my statement given on Monday 25th July 2003 in the defence of Father Reginald Hamilton, it was untrue and given under duress, you'll find the details in the report. While I understand this cannot change anything after all of this time, I want to apologise for what I have done and make things right – in any way I can. You will find the same for Celia and Michaela.' She turned and glanced at the mirrored window that she knew her team were standing behind and paused, building the courage to face her past. 'I also wish to make a new statement, providing evidence that Father Reginald did sexually abuse children in his care. He abused me over a period of 5 years while I was a member of the church choir and assisting with Sunday school. You will find details on my statement.'

'And on ours' stated Celia and Michaela stepping forward once again, tears dripping steadily down their faces. 'I'm sorry it took us this long but I guess we thought if we didn't talk about it, maybe we'd forget about it. _Ha_. Like _that_ would ever happen. We were scared that the same thing would happen to us as Carolynn and, that even if they did believe us… you wouldn't look at us the same way.'

Chief Dawson looked horrified as he looked at the three women before him. He had watched each of them grow from babies to the beautiful ladies they had become today, and he couldn't believe that he had missed this. Missed the horrors that the girls had been subjected to at the hands of a man of God no less. Carolynn, Talia, Celia, Michaela… how many others had he failed?

'I.. I don't know what to say girls. I'm so sorry that we failed you. That you had to lie to make sure you had homes even though you were… I'll have someone take Father Reginald into custody. He won't get away with it this time around.' Dawson went to say more, but choked up. Nodding to the girls he led them into the main area of the station before turning to talk to one of the officers nearby.

Celia turned to face Father Reginald, hatred burning in her eyes, 'you ruined our lives and you're a sick bastard. Our sisters are grown and gone from this town – you can't touch them now. Especially where you're going.'

Police officers cuffed and took him away, the girls hugged Talia before leaving to go be with their families… to explain. Talia ignored her mother as she tried to talk to her, looking at her with disgust 'I know you knew' she told her before moving away from her and joining her team. 'I don't want to talk about it' she said as JJ opened her mouth, nodding the team started to pack away their case files in silence. Talia was called in to go through her full statement before she left for Virginia and as she walked away she turned to face Morgan who had frozen in the corner, still looking at her in pure horror and regret. She gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes – 'Statute of limitations. Thanks.' And she turned and re-entered the interview room.

 **Thank you so much for reading and especially to those of you who have taken the time to review. Hope you enjoyed the story! 3**


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